For many years personal checks, travelers checks, money orders, traditional currency and the like were the most popular means for paying for goods or services. These payment means, however, were often difficult or impossible to replace if lost or stolen. This is typically true, since these means of payment were disposable in that they were typically single-use devices, meaning that once the devices were used, the ability to reuse the devices was instantly lost to the user.
As such, recent years has seen the development of transaction cards, such as credit cards, debit cards, smart cards, pre-paid cards and the like as a popular substitute for traditional means of payment. A transaction card is about the size of a driver's license, business card or the like making it easier to guard against theft by storing while maintaining control of the transaction card for later re-use. However, although transaction cards are typically configured for re-use, they, like the traditional means of payment discussed above, are often misplaced or lost by the user.
To enhance the chance that a user will have uninterrupted use of a transaction device conventional transaction account providers are increasingly providing transaction devices which are better suited for securing against loss or theft. For example, the transaction device may be embodied in a form factor attachable to the accountholder's person or to an often used personal article, such as a keychain, fob or tag. In this way, the user has increased security against loss, since the personal article is handled frequently. The security provided by this attachment method is limited, however, since the transaction device may still need to be handed over to a merchant to complete a transaction. As such, account providers have increasingly sought ways to enable the user to complete a transaction without the necessity for the user to relinquish control of the device. One such method involves providing a transaction device which is configured to transmit account payment information through a radio frequency transmission. A typical example is a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system.
Like barcode and voice data entry, RFID is a contactless information acquisition technology. RFID systems are wireless, and are usually extremely effective in hostile environments where conventional acquisition methods fail.
One of the more visible uses of the RFID technology is found in the introduction of Exxon/Mobil's Speedpass® and Shell's EasyPay® products. These products use transponders placed in a fob or tag which enables automatic identification of the user when the fob is presented at a Point of Sale (POS) device. Fob identification data is typically passed to a third party server database, where the identification data is referenced to a customer (e.g., user) credit or debit account for completion of a transaction.
By providing a RFID transaction device (e.g., fob) as described above, transaction account providers are able to attract account users in increasing numbers. The account users often prefer account providers which offer the RFID transaction device option because of the convenience of use and the security using a RF transaction fob provides. As such, because of the increased popularity and benefits associated with RFID transaction devices, many banking and financing institutions, department stores, petroleum companies and other organizations have developed their own RFID transaction devices for use by the organization's consumers.
The proliferation of RFID transaction devices has given the consumer many choices concerning which RFID transaction device to use. As such, device providers attempt to find ways to distinguish their device over a competitive device. In response to this competition, RFID transaction device providers have developed devices including different shapes and appearances. The variations are designed to encourage use of the device and to distinguish the device from other devices on the market.
Typical RFID transaction device providers encourage use of their transaction devices by making the device more aesthetically pleasing. For example, the transaction device provider may include on the surface of the device a logo, picture, apparition, or the like which holds some sentimental or endearing value to the user. The transaction device provider may address the aesthetics of a device by altering the shape of the form factor in which the RFID circuitry may be included.
While altering the appearance of the surface or shape of the device has proven successful for encouraging use of a particular transaction device, transaction device providers continue to look for other ways to improve the appearance of the device. As such, a system and method is desired which addresses the aesthetics of a transaction device with little regard for the device surface or shape.